Whew. After massive media pressure, the NFL managed to strike a labor deal with its referees late last night.  The New York Times has a funny spin on the news this morning,  printing a cartoon of on-field signals for replacement refs. Like figure 6 in the lower left, which is the official sign for “what game are you watching?” Or next to that, figure seven, which is the signal for a home run.

Calm down, bacon lovers. There have been rumors swirling around the Internet after a statement by a European trade group claimed a bacon shortage was on its way in 2013.  Not so, says the Des Moines Register. Economists say Europe may see a decline in supply as some EU rules about hog breeding go into affect but the US pork supplies will be unaffected.

Diamonds aren’t the only thing that lasts forever. A new study has found that tattoos that are more than three years old can be impossible to remove says the San Francisco Chronicle. After time, the ink penetrates the skin to a level that even lasers cannot erase. Other factors can have an impact too—like whether you’re a smoker or not, and the location and size of your tattoo.

The college dive bar is in peril says the New York Times this morning. The town square function they once served has been replaced by cellphones and social media. The shift has been significant enough that a group of bar owners in the college town of Ithica recently convened a summit to discuss how to adapt to the times.

Young Mitt Romney was a big ol’ sweetheart, says the New York Post this morning. This photo from the 1960s shows a love-struck Mitt posing on a beach in France next to a big heart-enclosed proclamation for his future wife. Apparently, the photo showed up in Time magazine at the time. It’s recently been resurrected to demonstrate Romney’s softer side during the final push of his campaign.

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been busy angering people during his stay in New York, but not too busy to stock up on essentials. The Daily News says members of the Iranian delegation were spotted at Costco and Walgreens stocking up on cheap sundries, and at Payless looking for discount shoes, a situation which inspired this headline: “The Devil Wears Payless.”